


is the moon still in love with the sun?

by itistheeast



Category: IT - Stephen King
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), M/M, Recreational Drug Use, Side Benverly - Freeform, Underage Drinking, dumb gays being dumb, established stanlon, richie is impulsive and eddie is just oblivious
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-03
Updated: 2019-12-03
Packaged: 2021-02-25 20:58:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,435
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21543895
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itistheeast/pseuds/itistheeast
Summary: eddie kaspbrak is a newly-nineteen aspiring actor who is the fresh new face around film sets and throughout the streets of los angeles. constantly anxious, he's finding the bright lights and never-ending bustle to be a very sharp shift from the quiet of his hometown. nevertheless, he wants to remain the same eddie his mom and friends always knew him to be: clean, always out of trouble, pristine.enter richie tozier, slightly neurotic and restless pretentious film star who wants to wreck all of those plans in a clunky pair of doc martens.title is from "from me, the moon" by LAV.
Relationships: Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier
Comments: 2
Kudos: 19





	is the moon still in love with the sun?

**Author's Note:**

> this is the first ao3 fic ive ever written......... Hi  
enjooyyyy :> dis story is dedicated to my lovely friends mira cam and maddy for giving me the confidence to post this :p  
tws (if needed) will be at the beginning of each chapter

“Oh, God.” Eddie complained to his roommate as he looked at his reflection in the mirror. “I look like a fucking espresso-chugging hipster who owns a Crosley record player.”

Mike rolled his eyes and came up behind him to adjust his black denim jacket. “It’s supposed to be a casual dinner party, it’s not like you’re attending the Met Gala or your cousin from Derry’s wedding. You look good, Kaspbrak.”

Eddie sighed as he messed with the loose strings on his ripped jeans, feeling like he looked out of place of his own body. “I guess, but it doesn’t look like me, does it?”

His friend shook his head, giving him a slight slap on the shoulder. “If you choose to wear a polo that’s two sizes too small for you and a pair of capri shorts to your first super cool actor event, that’s on you.”

Fuck. Eddie wasn’t sure how prepared he was to be this far out of his comfort zone. He had been so accustomed to only scoring roles in pretentious indie student films with bad script-writing that the idea of landing a role on an actual movie screen was almost unfathomable. The amount of doors that had been slammed in his face for anything bigger rendered him to a place of almost losing hope. When Mike’s boyfriend Stan had landed a gig as a member of the publicizing crew on an actual studio-produced movie, Stan had to beg him to at least audition. The fact that it seemed to go really well had shocked Eddie, and the requests for a first and second callback audition shocked him even more. By the point that Eddie’s agent (that he could barely afford) called him and told him he actually got the role, he was jumping out of his skin and felt like he was fully prepared and excited.

Needless to say, he was not fully prepared and excited.

“This is gonna be so, so weird. Like, what if I’m awkward and fuck up my words and they decide they don’t want me for the role anymore? What if like, everyone I work with is a complete dick and I end up hating all of them or something?” Eddie pondered aloud anxiously.

“You’re overthinking. Again.” his friend rolled his eyes as he ran his fingers through Eddie’s hair one more time, making sure it looked nice. “Everything will be fine, Eddie. And if it’s not, I’m a phone call away and you can get Stan to sneak you out of there and watch shitty romcoms with me and Bill.”

Eddie was about to reply when he felt his phone vibrate with the notification that Stan had arrived to pick him up. “O-oh God, S-Stan’s here.” he choked out after looking at the notification.

“Just be yourself, kid, you’ll be fine. You’re a big movie star now! Nothing can go wrong!” Mike assured him once again. “But stop with the st-stuttering, or I’m telling Bill.”

Eddie made a mental note to tell Mike to fuck off for that joke later, because he knew he was far too nervous for anything else to come out of his mouth except for “holyshitholyshitholyshit”.

This dinner party was actually such a big deal to Eddie, this would be the first time he would be meeting with all his cast and crew (outside of small talk conversation at callbacks) that he would be around for the upcoming months of his life. It was supposed to get everyone more comfortable with each other before they were thrown into 12 hour workdays shooting with each other, but Eddie almost felt like he would rather go into it blindly. That was probably just his anxiety talking, though.

He walked down the flights of stairs of his apartment with butterflies on all inches of his body. As soon as he walked out of the door and saw Stan’s car, he took a deep breath as his stomach dropped. _Get it together, for fuck’s sake,_ he thought to himself.

Eddie approached the passenger side and swung himself into the seat and gave Stan a quick smile.

“You seem nervous.” Stan commented.

“Is that obvious?”

His friend laughed softly as he patted Eddie’s knee. “A little. But it’ll be less nerve-wracking once you actually meet everybody, I promise. They’re all very laid-back. You can hang out with me and Ben the whole time, you don’t even have to talk to anyone.”

“We’re going to be hanging out with Ben Hanscom?” Eddie inquired. Ben was a big Hollywood actor, and one of Eddie’s co-stars on the set of the new movie, and he had met him at the callbacks for group readings, but Eddie figured that he was simply way too famous to be hanging around the newbie that was too nervous to ever attempt to make conversation with him.

“Yeah. He was one of the first people on set that I met. He’s so nice.” Stan explained, easing Eddie’s nerves a little bit.

“Oh. Okay, cool. I’ll just hang out with you and Ben, then.” he nervously giggled.

They drove in a comfortable silence as Eddie continued to scrutinize the situation in his head. He had such a bad problem with overthinking every possible risk and worst case scenarios that it had to be a burden to the people around him, he was sure of it. Mike was always telling him to stop overthinking, Bill would remind him that he worried too much, but it was just something he couldn’t help. It was always such an odd transition for Eddie from his completely sheltered years of adolescence to the all-things-go world of the Los Angeles that he was slightly getting a taste of now, so he couldn’t stop himself from overanalyzing the unfamiliar.

As Eddie felt Stan’s car slow down to a stop near the driveway of the home, he felt like he was going to melt in a puddle of anxiety. He knew he was going to have to rip the band-aid off of awkward social interaction at some point, so it might as well be now. He took a deep breath, adjusting his jacket and his hair one last time before looking at Stan in the driver’s seat.

“You ready, movie star?” Stan teased as he ran his hand over the car door handle.

“Kinda have to be, don’t I?” Eddie half-heartedly joked as he stepped out of the vehicle. As soon as he did, his jaw dropped.

The house was fucking huge. It belonged to Oliver Braxton, the director of the movie, and Eddie was so shocked that he was even associated with people who had money like this. His childhood homie in Derry was about the size of a small convenience store, and the apartment was probably half that size. This was in a completely different universe of things he was used to. But Eddie was learning rather quickly that he soon would be experiencing a lot of things out of his realm of normal.

“Holy fuck.” Eddie commented as he overlooked the house.

“Nice, isn’t it?” he heard a voice behind he and Stan, and he turned and was met with Ben Hanscom who had kind looking eyes and a nice smile.

“Hey man!” Stan exclaimed as he gave him a quick hug. “Eddie, Ben, you two have met.”

“Yes, yes we have!” Ben nodded. “I didn’t know that you two knew each other.”

“Yep, me and Eddie are roommates. But now, I get to call him my soon-to-be famous friend.”

“I am not his soon-to-be-famous friend.” Eddie rolled his eyes playfully as he greeted Ben with a handshake.

“Not yet.” Stan countered with a smile.

“Well, almost famous friend and almost famous friend’s sidekick, let’s go deal with weird icebreaker games and uncomfortable silences while we eat good food, shall we?” Ben smiled, gesturing to the house.

Eddie sighed as he nodded and followed the two men to the front door. Ben knocked as he seemed more familiar with the house—at least more familiar than Stan and Eddie were.

The door swung open, and Eddie had to quite literally force his mouth not to open in shock again. It was not Oliver at all. It was long, lanky legs and a bright, goofy smile with sparkly brown eyes covered by wire-rimmed glasses with a mop of messy curls atop his head. It was freckles dashed across pale skin, blue jeans and a suit jacket over a band tee, it was beat up sneakers with tattered laces. It was the effortlessly elegant and alluring presence; it was pure beauty and all Eddie could think was pretty, pretty, _pretty_. It was Richie Tozier, Hollywood’s posterboy for all things cool and exciting, and basically everything Eddie was not. And now, melting into a puddle on the floor sounded quite enticing again.

“Welcome to the party, nerds! ‘Cept it’s not really that much of a party. It’s a bunch of middle aged people talking about their vegetable gardens and shit.” he introduced. “I’m Richie. Who are you jokers and why are you hanging out with lame Ben? Did you know he has a New Kids on the Block poster in his room?”

“Beep beep, Richie.” Ben jokingly shoved Richie, and oh. Okay. Eddie was kind of friends with Ben and Ben was friends with Richie Tozier. No big deal. “These are my friends here,” he gestured towards Eddie and Stan, allowing them to introduce themselves.

“Really cool to meet you Richie, I’m Stan,”

Eddie’s anxiety built up as he short-circuited and suddenly became mute for some reason all of the sudden. “I’m, uh, I’m Ed-”

“Tozier!” Eddie heard the voice of Oliver reprimanding him. “Who let you off your leash? Stop harassing the guests.”

“Harassing? What a hurtful accusation. I’m seriously wounded, Ollie,” Richie turned to look Eddie directly in the eyes, and his anxiety reared its head as he awaited to be spoken to. “The little one over there didn’t seem to be offended.”

Eddie didn’t know where his confidence came from, because before his brain could connect with his mouth, he was blurting back a sarcastic remark as well. “The little one thinks whatever leash they had you on should come with a muzzle.” He immediately regretted it as soon as he saw Stan’s surprised face. _God, Eddie, you haven’t even stepped in the door and you’ve already fucked it up._

Instead of looking offended, Richie’s eyes lit up. “Oh my God, one that talks back. This is going to be so much fun!” he excitedly spun back into the living room as Eddie just watched in awe at his energy while Stan’s giggles could still be heard in the background.

Oliver laughed and rolled his eyes, “Sorry about him. Real pain in the ass sometimes,” he bit, but there was no real annoyance behind it. Eddie could tell he found it almost endearing. “Come in, come in, so glad to have you all here.”

Eddie ushered himself into the house, following behind Ben and Stan, and he really shouldn’t have been surprised at the fact that the inside of the house was even nicer than the outside. It was pretty marble flooring with tall, tall ceilings, but the rest of the decoration was fairly modernized. Eddie felt like he was on a movie set already from how huge the house was. When they finally reached the spare room where the dinner was being held, he was amazed at how the setup looked like a ballroom. The room was lit slightly pink with two long tables with other small tables surrounding them, with various tables of food surrounding those. Eddie felt like he was at his middle school dance, just the way more upscale version with even more nervousness and awkward behavior.

“Here it is, be free! Socialize, help yourselves to whatever you would like,” Oliver told them upon entering.

As Oliver walked away, Eddie faced Stan and Ben. “I’m gonna be honest, I’m kinda freaking the fuck out.”

Stan chuckled. “Didn’t seem too freaked the fuck out when you were telling Richie Tozier he needed a muzzle.”

Ben laughed along with him. “Yeah, that was hilarious, little one.”

Eddie visibly cringed at that memory, but still smiled nonetheless. “God, don’t remind me.”

“I wonder why he’s here, anyway. He wasn’t on the cast list.” Stan wondered aloud.

“Probably here with someone.” Ben shrugged, and Eddie supposed that made sense. He surveyed over the rest of the room and started to calm his nerves down a little more as he began coming to the shocking revelation that these were just people. Nothing to be afraid of.

“C’mon, let’s go get some food, I’m fucking starving,” Stan suggested as he clapped his hands, as the other two followed him to the table.

“Oh, I see they’re just dragging anybody through the door now?” Eddie heard a quipping voice from behind him at the table, and he turned around to see Beverly Marsh, one of Eddie’s favorite actresses who he was surprisingly going to have the privilege of acting alongside, poking Ben on his arm.

Ben turned around his face seemed to light up as he gave her a hug. “God, worst co-star I could have asked for.”

It hit him once again that Eddie was kind of friends with Ben and Ben was friends with Richie Tozier and Beverly Marsh. It didn’t quite make sense in his head that this was his reality and not some shitty hypothetical situation he had fantasized in his head.

Eddie started to wonder if he pinched himself hard enough he would wake up from this dream, but that train of thought was interrupted by Beverly pulled away as she set her eyes on Eddie. “Eddie Kaspbrak, right?”

“Y-yeah, that’s me.” he smiled and waved. “Hi Bever-”

His words were cut off as she went straight for the hug, and Eddie was learning fast that Beverly must have been the affectionate, touchy type. Which was okay, because he’s sure that eighteen-year-old, starry-eyed, brand-new-to-the-L.A.-scene Eddie would have killed to be in this moment.

She smiled as she broke the hug and looked at Stan. “I don’t believe we’ve met though, I’m Beverly Marsh.”

“I’m Stanley Uris, I’m on the publicizing crew,” he smiled as he accepted Beverly’s hug.

“Nice to meet you,” she grinned. “Well, Handsome Hanscom, whenever you guys are done getting food, you guys should come sit with me and that loser Richie. We’ve been awkwardly eating alone over there.”

“Will do, Bev.” Ben assured her as she waved and walked away.

Well, that explained why Richie was there. Sort of. Eddie didn’t have much time to dwell on the subject of why Richie would’ve came to accompany Beverly because he was too busy getting nauseous over the fact that he would spend the evening trying not to trip over his own words in front of two huge actors he really admired.

After helping themselves to their own plates, Ben led them to a four-seater table in a corner where Richie and Beverly were sitting alone, facing each other. Ben sat next to Beverly, not to Eddie’s surprise, but now Eddie had to make the decision on whether to sit right next to Richie Tozier or just pull up a chair to the end of the table. But goddamn Stan made that choice for him, as he began to grab a chair and pull it towards the end of the table. _Fuck you for being so polite, Stan,_ Eddie thought to himself. _Why couldn’t Mike have picked a rude asshole for a boyfriend instead?_

Eddie hesitantly sat down next to Richie, trying his best not to show that he was shaking like a fucking chihuahua.

“Is it that unbearable to sit next to me, little Eds?” he heard Richie’s sarcastic voice drip from right next to him. “It’s not like I smell, is it? I showered this morning.”

“N-no, I just-”

“Oh, lay off him, Richie. I wouldn’t want to sit next to you either.” Beverly countered as she threw a fry off her plate at him.

Richie’s jaw over exaggeratedly dropped in fake-shock as he threw the fry back at the red haired girl. “Traitor!”

“Did you just call me Eds?” Eddie finally questioned.

Richie nodded excitedly. “Uh-huh. Bevvie told me your name so I improvised. Do you like it, Mr. Eddie Kaspbrak?”

The other boy shook his head. “No. It’s awful.”

“What would you rather be call you? Edward? Eddie Spaghetti? Eduardo? How ‘bout Betty Kaspbrak?” he continued.

“How ‘bout none of them? Eddie is already a nickname.” Eddie sarcastically shot back, but even he wasn’t that well of an actor to be able to hide his glowing smile.

“Thomas EDison?” Richie ignored him as he continued to look for the perfect shitty nickname, and Eddie was starting to wonder if it brought him immense joy to annoy other people.

“Do you have an off switch?” Eddie jokingly questioned.

“God, I wish. Been trying to find his mute button for years now.” Ben smiled as he held his face in his hands.

“Well, Eddie and Stan, meet my date, Richie Tozier.” Beverly made an attempt at introduction.

Date. Oh, okay. So that’s definitely why he’s here, Eddie thought. Beverly and Richie made sense as a couple after it had been pointed out. They both had such an energy that made everyone want to gravitate towards them, and Eddie supposed that neither of them weren’t an exception to that rule, even when it came to one another.

“Hi Richie,” Stan giggled as he gave a small wave.

“How long have you two been together?” Eddie blurted out as he looked between Richie and Beverly. He didn’t even have time to kick himself for being so fucking forward, because Beverly and Richie, along with Ben, began laughing extremely hard.

“Oh, Eds, nonononono.” Richie managed to get out in between laughs. “You see, Spaghetti, my dear Beverly has spent four excruciating years in the friendzone. It’s why she’s so fiery, actually, because she harvests so much pent up sexual frustration due to the lack of Richie in her bed.”

“For fuck’s sake, Trashmouth!” Beverly yelled through giggles. “God knows I wouldn’t even go there with a ten foot pole.”

“Ouch. Denial is the first stage of grief, they say.” Richie reasons, earning another laugh out of Ben and Beverly.

Eddie is still wildly confused as Ben turns to look him in the face, his flesh still tinted red from laughing so much. “Bev and Richie aren’t dating.”

“Yeah, no thanks. He’s just my best friend.” Beverly sighs. “Most days.”

“O-oh, I’m sorry for assuming.” Eddie apologized, cheeks pink from embarrassing himself. Again.

“Aw, don’t apologize.” Richie assured him as he ruffled Eddie’s hair. “Now how did you and your lovely husband Stan the Man meet? And how are the kids?”

“Oh, lay off him, Rich,” Beverly warned with a smile.

“For the record, my boyfriend and I already count Eddie as our honorary child, so I’m not confident that Eddie and I’s marriage would go over well in family court.” Stan remarked, earning a laugh from everyone at the table.

The rest of the night’s conversation flowed the way that Eddie would have imagined as the best case scenario in his head. He reminded himself that he would have to thank Mike later for actually convincing him that he should retire overthinking and just trust that the night would go well.

Eddie had admired the way Stan melded himself into the group. Eddie’s group of friends consisted of three people, so he hadn’t realized until tonight that he’d never seen Stan interacting with a different and larger group of people. He acted as if he had known these people for years, making easy sarcastic jokes and pulling funny faces that he knew would get a good reaction from everyone. Eddie felt pangs of near-jealousy every time he looked Stan’s way, because he envied that pure comfort that comes with confidence. Eddie also admired the way Stan gave him a sense of security, because whenever Eddie’s nerves seemed to be getting the best of him, Stan was always right behind him to push him along. Small things, like being the first one to laugh at anything Eddie said, or emphasizing any stories Eddie told to make them seem much more interesting than they actually were. Stan was an even better person than he thought, Eddie had learned tonight, and he was lucky to have him. Eddie tacked Stanley Uris onto the ever-growing list of things that he was grateful to Mike for.

Something else he had learned: Eddie also admired almost everything about Richie Tozier. He was full of light and he had to be made from the brightest stardust in the galaxy, and his presence was even more bewitching. Every time he spoke, it felt like his voice was the generating source for the smile on everyone’s faces. God, Eddie didn’t know if he realized the power he had. It was almost magical watching him, the way everyone he interacted with seemed to fall over themselves for a sliver of his attention. Eddie understood, second-handedly, if Richie had a bit of an inflated ego sometimes. It must’ve been hard for him to not think highly of himself when he was just so goddamn captivating to everyone else. Anytime a guest would come over to their table to talk to Richie, Eddie just wanted to ask him if he was aware that everyone here was infatuated with him in some way.

But even above all that, Eddie especially liked watching how he carried himself, as if he didn’t even notice that expectant grins were always directed and him and smitten googly eyes were on him. Richie was probably the least concerned with what others thought of him, even the good opinions. Even if he would say a joke that he got chastised for after the fact, he would still be smiling—because as it seemed to Eddie, in Richie’s world, as long as it got a laugh (begrudgingly or intentfully), it was worth it. Eddie wondered what it was like to have the kind of magnetizing personality to where you could say whatever outlandish joke or edgy story that you wanted and still have everyone wrapped around your finger.

As the night came to a close, Eddie found himself not wanting it to be over. Which was surprising, considering that if you had told Eddie about five hours ago that he would be wishing the event would’ve lasted longer, he would have laughed in your face and then went into a panic attack.

Eddie was currently walking down the front steps of the house, being accompanied by Stan, Ben, Bev, and Richie. Stan was engaging in conversation with Ben and Beverly about some indie band that they all shared a common interest in, so that left Richie and Eddie following behind. Eddie was fighting every urge to not crawl out of his skin then and there, feeling like he was going to be was tripping over himself trying to act cool in front of Richie.

“Well, Eds, looks like we have now been crowned as the honorary fourth and fifth wheel in this new friendship group.” Richie remarked as they stepped onto the pavement of the house’s sidewalk.

“Looks like it.” Eddie nodded. “But, Stan and his boyfriend are my roommates, so I’m pretty used to it.”

“Aw, we’ve got a lonely young chap on our hands there, then?” Richie questioned in a terribly crafted mock-British accent.

“Not really, my friend Bill lives with us too,” the other boy laughed. “And that accent was horrible.”

Richie mock-gasped as he playfully bumped shoulders with him. Continuing in the worst British impression Eddie had ever heard, he said, “Why, my dear Edward! I am putridly flabbergasted at your criticism. I don’t believe you could do any better yourself, gov’nah.”

“Somehow, I feel like someone who’s never heard a British person in their life could conduct a better accent than that.” Eddie retorted as he smiled in the tall boy’s direction.

Richie took a deep breath before switching to another voice. “You talk back quite a lot for such a small shrimp on the barbie, don’tcha mate?”

“Oh my God, was that supposed to be Australian?” Eddie chortled after hearing him.

“Supposed to be?” Richie smiled as he reverted back to his normal accent. “It was precise. Feel like I could play Steve Irwin in a biopic about his life.”

Eddie rolled his eyes. “You might could play the part of the string-ray.”

“Ouch, Spaghettio, too soon.” Richie remarked as he dramatically held his hand over his heart.

“Is he bothering you, Eddie?” Beverly spoke as she turned around to face them.

_Not even in the slightest. I think I would be okay with chasing after cool points and validation from him for the rest of my life,_ Eddie wants to say.

“Still trying to find his off switch,” Eddie says instead.

He and Richie continued their almost endearing back-and-forth banter as the group approached the driveway where Stan had parked his car.

“So, is this the end of the night, losers?” Richie announced as he leaned against the hood of Stan’s vehicle.

“Suppose it is, Trashmouth.” Ben replied.

“When do you guys start filming?” Stan directed to Ben, Beverly, and Eddie.

“Two weeks,” the three replied in synchronicity.

“Ah, good luck, my rookie, budding young thespians.” Richie dramatically bowed as he lifted himself off the hood and made his way to stand next to Eddie.

“Richie, we’ve all been in the industry the same amount of time as you.” Beverly remarked.

“Au contraire, mademoiselle, this is but the first big break for little ol’ Eds!” Richie pointed out as he ruffled Eddie’s hair, making Eddie’s palms grow clammy again. Eddie wondered if it was normal that his heart felt like it was shaking in its ribcage anytime Richie was in his general vicinity, but he just placed that all back on his nerves and anxiety.

“Sure it won’t be the last, though.” she pointed at Eddie as she gave him a half-smile.

“Thank you, Beverly,” Eddie grinned even winder.

“You don’t have to be all formal and call me Beverly, by the way,” she assured him. “Sound too much like my assistant. Bev is just fine.”

“Or you can call her Molly Ringwald.” Richie suggested.

“Don’t call me Molly Ringwald.” Bev countered in response as she softly kicked a rock in Richie’s direction, making him laugh.

“Well then, thanks, Bev-ly Ringwald.” Eddie joked, earning a rock to get kicked his way as well.

After a moment, Ben spoke. “Well, I’d better be headed out soon. I’ve got a plane to catch in the morning. It was really nice hanging out with all of you guys, even Richie.”

They all laughed as they began the goodbye hugs, all bidding each other a goodnight and safe travels home. When Richie reached Eddie, Eddie’s shorter stature made it to where his head fell right in the corner of Richie’s neck whenever they embraced. He smelled nice, like expensive cologne and cigarettes. His skin was warm and his hair tickled Eddie’s cheek. Eddie considered the thought that if he died right now in this moment, that would probably be okay with him.

“See ya around, Squidward.” Richie half-whispered to him as he pulled away.

“Squidward? That doesn’t even remotely sound like Eddie.” he questioned.

“Squidward, Edward, they all sound the same.” The dark-haired boy laughed as he ruffled Eddie’s hair again before walking backwards to catch up with Bev.

As soon as they were out of the line of vision, Stan looked at Eddie with a knowing look on his face.

“What?”

“Am I detecting a slight crush from you, Eddie?” Stan teased as he poked his friend’s cheek.

“No, Sherlock Homo-Holmes, you are not detecting anything.” Eddie rolled his eyes as he jiggled with the car door handle on the passenger side. “Can you crack the case of how to unlock the door, Professor? It’s fucking hot out here.”

Stan shook his head as he made his way to the driver’s side of the car, clearly amused. “So much anger in such a tiny body.”

Eddie sighed as he opened the finally-unlocked door, now changing Stan’s position to dead last on the list of things he had to be grateful to Mike for.

They arrived back at the apartment, seeing that all the lights had been shut off, meaning that Mike and Bill had both already went to bed by now. Stan bid Eddie goodnight, but Eddie grabbed ahold of his wrist before he could walk away.

“Stan,”

“Eddie?”

“I just wanted to say like, thank you for being so cool tonight. I was really, really nervous but you helped a lot. Whether you meant to or not. So, um, yeah. Thank you for making me go from a nervous wreck to a slightly more calmed down wreck.” Eddie explained.

“Of course, Eddie. But don’t give me all the credit. Everyone there loved you,” Stan promised him. “‘Specially Ri-”

“I take it back!” Eddie shout-whispered as he jerked his hand away from holding the grip of Stan’s wrist.

Stan simply left, telling Eddie to get some rest as he headed off to he and Mike’s bedroom. Eddie padded off to his respective room and all but threw himself onto his bed. His heart felt like it was glowing and fulfilled. He really was on his way to having made it: he had just spent the evening attending a nice dinner event at a famous director’s mansion, not to mention that the same director was directing a movie that Eddie was going to be playing in. And, oh yeah, he had hung out with three actors who he’d looked up to for a majority of his life. It all seemed a little too surreal, and he felt like any minute he was going to wake up from this dream where famous screenwriters/directors talked to him as an equal, where people knew his name before him having to tell them, and where pretty boys like Richie Tozier laughed at his jokes.

Eddie hid his blushing face in his pillow as he tried to force his overactive mind to drift off into a slumber.

***

The next morning, Eddie awoke groggily, feeling like he hadn’t slept much last night and just spent the whole night replaying events from the dinner in his head, and overanalyzing how he spoke and acted. But also reliving the good moments in his head too, like every time Beverly Marsh smiled at him or every time Richie Tozier slightly touched him.

He rolled out of his sheets and brought himself into the living room, seeing Mike and Bill sitting on the couch already. Eddie joined them, plopping himself right next to Bill.

“Where’s Stan?” Eddie asked as he grabbed a piece of cinnamon toast that was on a plate on the table in front of them.

“Still asleep. Social interaction takes a lot out of him,” Mike explained, really only half-joking.

“S-so how was the d-dinner, Eddie?” Bill spoke in Eddie’s direction.

“It was so insane. First, the house was huge. It was nothing like I’d ever seen. You don’t understand Bill, not even the rich houses in Derry looked like this. And interacting with people was crazy too; people were coming up to me asking if I was Eddie Kaspbrak. And I didn’t even know who they were!” Eddie rushed out excitedly.

“That’s so cool, Eddie!” Mike said with a smile.

“I c-can’t believe I’m fr-fr-friends with a famous p-person now.” Bill replied, stunned. “Th-that makes us famous by proxy, M-Mike.”

Eddie laughed as he nodded his head. “Speaking of famous friends, Stan and I spent the whole night hanging out with Ben Hanscom, Beverly Marsh, and fucking Richie Tozier.”

“Holy shit.” Bill breathed. “N-next thing we know, Eddie will be ditching our d-dinner nights to go do molly with Leonardo Dic-caprio or s-something.”

“Oh, shut up. Never. Although, I’ll try to snag Leo’s number just for you, Billy.” Eddie assured, finding it easy to calm down when he had his friends to freak out with him.

“God, you’ve really made it, haven’t you?” Mike grinned as he gave Eddie a hug. “Have you told your mom all about it yet?”

Fuck. No, Eddie had not done that. He had not even considered doing that, actually. Didn’t want to think about it as much as he was sure she didn’t want to hear from him. But it’s not like Mike could’ve known how awkward that subject was to bring up, as neither Mike nor Stan knew the full extent of Eddie’s horrid relationship with his mother. They had only known each other for as long as they had been roommates, which was only a year. Eddie didn’t think delving into his deep-rooted mommy issues would make a particularly made a good impression on them, so he just didn’t tell them. Bill knew it all though, because he was there for all of it.

When Eddie decided in his sophomore year of high school that he was going to save every penny in order to move all the way across the country to pursue acting, his mother was about as far from elated as you could possibly get. The mere thought of her precious Eddie surrounded by trillions of germs in an unfamiliar place where she wasn’t able to keep a constant watch on him sent her into orbit. She had tried every trick in the book to convince him to change his mind, and when that didn’t work, she meddled in his ways of retrieving money to save. Eddie had to hide every job from her, keep his money locked away in a safe at Bill’s house, and do some of the best acting he had ever done in his life trying to convince her that he had changed his mind about moving. He had also pleaded for Bill to come with him, begging for him to apply for UCLA or USC. He eventually agreed, but of course Bill’s parents were a lot more lax on the prospect of their son moving out and making a life for himself on his own, so they didn’t put up too much of a fuss.

However, Eddie and Bill knew that just the two of them wouldn’t have been able to afford living in California. So, right before Eddie turned eighteen, he and Bill started looking for other people in California needing living arrangements who were in similar positions to them: young, inexperienced kids who needed to get the fuck out of their hometowns. That’s where they found Mike on an online forum, and they began talking back and forth online and eventually decided on them all moving in together after both of them were able to graduate. They found Stan when they realistically knew that Los Angeles rent was no joke, and two broke college kid and aspiring actor would not be able to take the brunt of the rent by paying it just three ways. So, after it was settled, Eddie had his and Bill’s plane tickets booked for the day after graduation. He didn’t tell his mom, he didn’t tell any of his classmates, he didn’t tell anyone. He couldn’t.

Eddie thought back on the impending nerves he had writing the long letter he had left for his mother the day that he left. He knew that they would likely never speak again after that day, not that it bothered him, but he at least promised her that he would remain the same Eddie that she knew all of his teenage years. Clean, innocent, careful, lame little Edward Kaspbrak who was always aware of all the dangers of his surroundings. He at least owed her that. And, he’s kept that promise so far, at least.

Eddie snapped himself out of his own reminiscence to reply to Mike. “I, uh, no, I haven’t. I should probably tell her though.”

“I’m sure she’ll be proud of you, Eddie.” his friend smiled.

_Doubt it,_ he bitterly thought. _Proud isn’t even in her vocabulary._

“Maybe.” Eddie shrugged, wanting to change the subject as quickly as possible. “God, I could barely fucking contain myself last night. Like, I feel like I’m bound to start hearing the screeching of my alarm and the sound of Bill stuttering while rage-yelling at his video game or something, and I will be reminded that this is all a very cruel dream.”

“If I s-slap you in the face as h-hard as I c-c-can, would you believe it was r-real?” Bill questioned, earning a laugh out of Mike and Eddie.

The three of them carried in easy conversation about Eddie’s night and then what the two of them did last night while Eddie and Stan were gone. They were interrupted, eventually, by the familiar voice of a certain curly-haired roommate.

“Mike, Bill, Eddie,” his voice carried throughout the room.

“G-good mornin-ng, Sleeping B-Beauty.” Bill greeted him.

“Hi baby, how’d you sleep?” Mike sweetly asked, getting off the couch to greet his boyfriend with a kiss on the cheek. “Eddie was just telling us about how much fun you guys had last night.”

“Hi love,” Stan reciprocated Mike’s affection as he kissed his hand. “Anyway, yes, Eddie and I did have fun tonight. But would you guys also like to have fun?”

“D-did he just a-ask us if w-we like having f-fun?” Bill asked, confused. “Did you p-put someth-thing in his drink last n-night?”

“No, he’s just barely awake right now.” Eddie shook his head. “What are you talking about, Stanley?”

“As in, when I woke up this morning, I had a text from Ben Hanscom passing on an invite to a party at Beverly Marsh’s house tomorrow night, and told me that Eddie and I can bring plus ones.” Stan explained himself.

“No fucking way,” Mike excitedly said as he hugged Stan.

Bill turned to Eddie. “I know w-we’re not boyfriends, but I b-better be your f-fucking plus one.”

Eddie giggled. “Hm, maybe. I was also considering that one waitress at the barbecue place we go sometimes, she’s got a lot of personality and-”

“Eddie.” Bill warned.

“Of course, I’m bringing you, Buh-Buh-Bill.” Eddie assured him as he ruffled his hair.

“Oh my God, I’m gonna get to party with Ben Hanscom. He’s in my literal favorite movie of all time.” Mike realized with a wide grin on his face.

“F-Fuck that, I’m gonna b-be taking sh-shots with Beverly Ma-Marsh, my b-biggest celebrity crush.” Bill countered.

“How ‘bout fuck both of those, because Eddie Spaghetti here is gonna get to have a full night of flirting with Richie Tozier again.” Stan remarked, using the nickname that Richie had monikered Eddie with.

The group all began to laugh as they started discussing what they would do and what they would wear and how they would act. And Eddie simply couldn’t wait, anxiety being an afterthought.

***  
Tomorrow night came way faster than expected, and Eddie yet again found himself dressed in hipster clothes sitting in Stan’s car with a tummy full of nerves.

“H-Haven’t you hung out with th-these people a-already?” Bill questioned. “Wh-why are you freaking out so much?”

“I just am, I don’t even know why. I think it’s just because of the fact that my first ever party is on this large a scale.” Eddie rationalized.

“Well, you better suck it up, buttercup, because in T-Minus 10 minutes we’re going to be at the door of Beverly’s house." Stan spoke from the front seat.

Eddie took a deep breath as he tried to relax himself for the rest of the car ride. _Just people,_ he reminded himself. _These people like you.<.em>_

__

As Stan pulled up to the larger house’s driveway, all reassuring thoughts Eddie had conjured for himself went out the window.

__

“Let’s go, boys!” Mike urged them as he, Stan and Bill got out of the vehicle and headed towards the door.

__

When they reached the door, it swung open before they even knocked. “Names?” a man that Eddie had never seen before asked, holding a clipboard.

__

“Uh, Stanley Uris and Eddie Kaspbrak. And this is Mike Hanlon and Bill Denbrough. Our guests.” Stan quickly explained.

__

The man simply nodded and opened the door wider so that the boys were able to get in. The house was covered with people, which wasn’t alleviating Eddie’s anxiety much. There was colorful strobe lights painting the walls and loud music and sweaty bodies slamming against each other, accompanied by a table chock-full of alcohol. Eddie took a deep breath as he followed his friends through the crowd.

__

They made their way to the kitchen, where they saw Ben conversing with a couple of other people. He turned around and noticed Stan and Eddie, and a wide smile broke out on Ben’s face.

__

“Stan! Eddie! Stan and Eddie’s friends!” he greeted, it being obvious that he was already quite tipsy.

__

“Hi Ben,” Eddie smiled. “This is my friend, Bill, and this is Stan’s boyfriend, Mike.”

__

“Hello, Ben, I’m such a big fan,” Mike quickly said, yelling over the music.

__

“Thank you so much, I appreciate that! It’s great to have you guys here! Grab yourself a drink!” he urged.

__

“We sure will, Ben,” Stan assured. “Do you know where Bever-”

__

“Staniel and Eddie Spaghetti!” they heard Bev’s voice from behind them, and the group all turned around.

__

“Stop stealing my nicknames, Bev, that’s my thing,” came Richie’s voice as he hugged Beverly from behind.

__

“Hey, Bev, this is my boyfriend, Mike, and then our friend, Bill.” Stan introduced to her.

__

“Richie?” she prompted.

__

He seemed to think for a moment before landing his eyes on the two of them. “How ‘bout Mike Wazowski and Big Bill?”

__

“God, those are even worse than the nicknames you give me.” Eddie retorted with a smile.

__

“Wow, Eds, ya look so modern and stylish.” Richie sarcastically greeted him.

__

“Shut up.” he smiled.

__

“Well, it’s really great to meet you guys! Let’s all go take shots!” Beverly shouted, dragging the rest of them with her.

__

Eddie stayed behind and grabbed a cup, finding his way to the fridge and filling it with just water. He didn’t want everyone here to think he was lame, but he was also lame enough to be too afraid to actually drink anything.

__

He and his cup full of water made his way to the dance floor, where he could watch his friends and see what they were doing and try his best to interact with them without making it obvious that this wasn’t his scene at all. He bounced his body to the music as he took small sips from his cup as he observed the crowd.

__

"You know, you don't look like you're having a swell time there, Eds." he heard a familiar voice bark in his ear, knowing that it belonged to Richie.

__

"What?" Eddie yelled over the music. "I am having a swell time. The swellest."

__

Richie gave him a knowing smile as he cocked his eyebrows. He led them into the nearest hallway and then leaned himself against the wall. Richie then proceeded to snatch Eddie's cup out of his hand and throw it back, swallowing every last drop that was left. "Fuckin' knew it. You're drinkin' water in this cup, Kaspbrak? Really?"

__

Eddie guffawed at this boy's boldness, and rushed to defend himself in the fear he had made himself look uncool in front of Richie Tozier. "Well, I just knew I might have to drive Stan and Mike home, and-"

__

"C'mon, we both know gays can't drive. You were just avoiding getting drunk." Richie rolled his eyes as he took one last sip from his cup before setting it on the hardwood floor in the hallway. "Wanna get out of here with me, Eds?"

__

Eddie's eyes widened at the implication. "Woah, I mean, uh, I appreciate the offer and all, but I've only known you for like three days, and-"

__

"Oh my God!" Richie laughed as he hid both of his hands in his face. "I'm not asking you to sleep with me, Eddie." he continued to giggle.

__

"You're not?"

__

Richie put his hand over his mouth in faux-shock as he put on his best attempt at a Southern Belle accent. "Why, of course not. What kinda girl do you take me for, sugar?"

__

"O-oh, well, um, I'm sorry." Eddie awkwardly fumbled, seemingly never knowing how to pull himself out of an awkward situation. "What did you have in mind, then?"

__

Richie pondered for a moment, but seemed stumped. His conclusion was eventually, "Something reckless, something fun."

__

"I don’t really do stuff like that."

__

"What? Have fun?"

__

"No, like. I've never been to parties, this is my first one. I don't do impulsive teenager shit just because." Eddie shrugged. "My idea of fun back home was reading comic books alone in my room."

__

"So you were like, a goody-two-shoes kid?" Richie asked with his tongue between his teeth.

__

Eddie sighed. "I guess if that's what you wanna call it. Boring might be more accurate."

__

"You are far from boring, Eds." Richie rolled his eyes, and then Eddie watched his eyes light up. "I think I've got an idea for the first step of showing you what it feels like to actually have fun."

__

"And what would that be?"

__

Richie raised his eyebrows. "You ever sneak under a highway?"

__

"No?"

__

"First time for everything, then!" Richie smiled as he grabbed hold of Eddie's hand and led him out of the front door, pushing past everyone else at the party.

__

“Aren’t you drunk?”

__

“I took one shot two hours ago, Eds, I’m hardly blackout.”

__

"Shouldn't we have told the others we were leaving?" Eddie worriedly asked.

__

"They'll find out soon enough, won't they?" Richie reasoned, and Eddie figured he couldn't really argue with that logic.

__

Richie led Eddie to his car, a fucking nice sports car that Eddie probably couldn't name the brand of if you paid him. He realized at that moment that he still hadn't let go of Richie's hand, so he did just that as he wandered over to the other side. He listened to the doors unlock, and then climbed into the passenger seat. Eddie watched as Richie put the key in the car's ignition and started up the engine.

__

"I thought you said gays couldn't drive?" Eddie joked, remembering what he told him earlier.

__

Richie looked at Eddie with a smile before he put the car in reverse and starting maneuvering out of the driveway. "Bisexuality, my dear Watson. I'm a person of duality, I suppose. I got the ability to drive, but unfortunately I did catch the 'gays can't do math' stereotype." He sighed as he put the car back in drive and rested his hand on Eddie's knee for a moment. "Blessing and a curse."

__

Richie fumbled with the auxiliary cord before plugging it into his phone, keeping his knee on the wheel in order to steer the car. "What kind of music do you listen to, Eddie Spaghetti?"

__

"Probably nothing that you would listen to." Eddie snickered.

__

"Why? You think you're too indie and underground for me or something?" Richie questioned with a goofy smile.

__

"No, far from that." Eddie shook his head. "I listen to like, older music."

__

Richie playfully scoffed. "That's a real broad spectrum there, Edwar-"

__

"You can play _Fly Me To the Moon_. By Frank Sinatra." Eddie blurted.

__

"Sinatra fan, really?" the boy next to him smiled as he began typing on his phone. "A cultured man after my own heart, truly."

__

The smooth noise of the Sinatra song played throughout the speakers of Richie's car. Richie would take momentary breaks from looking at the road just so that he could look at Eddie in the seat next to him and serenade him loudly, doing probably the most exaggerated Frank Sinatra impression every time. Eddie let it slide though, because every time Richie sang to him, it made him blush and giggle like an infatuated middle schooler with a dumb crush.

__

Richie's car began slowing down, but it wasn't near the highway, it was near a woodsy area with no surrounding cars or business around it, which was completely out of character for Los Angeles.

__

Eddie unbuckled his seatbelt and turned his body to face Richie head-on. "Did you bring me here to kill me, Richie?"

__

"You've figured out the puzzle, Kaspbrak. I kill all the male actors that I meet in order to ensure my spotlight. It's a wonder that Ben's lasted this long." Richie played along as he got out of his seatbelt.

__

The boys both got out of the car and Eddie felt the humid air of the night hit his face. "But seriously though,where are we? I thought we were sneaking under a highway?"

__

Richie slung a backpack that he got out of his backseat over his shoulder and walked over to Eddie. He took his hand yet again, simply muttering "You ask too many questions, Spaghetti Man."

__

They walked for about two minutes until they reached where Richie had been telling him about. Eddie didn't know what he was expecting, but it was exactly what he had been told. Just the underbelly of a random overpass.

__

"Beauty, isn't she?" Richie sarcastically drawled as he dragged him closer to the large concrete columns that held up the highway.

__

"It's cool." Eddie confirmed. "Do you come here often?"

__

Richie chuckled. "Is that supposed to be a pick-up line, Eddie my love?"

__

Eddie sputtered as he unlaced his fingers from Richie's, feeling like he was coming on too strong already. "N-No, it was just a genuine questi-"

__

"Relaaaaax, cutie, I'm just fuckin' with ya." Richie assured him as he squeezed the slightly chubby cheeks on Eddie's face. "To answer your question, no. I've only been under here like, twice."

__

The shorter boy nodded as he watched Richie threw his backpack off of his shoulders and sling it on the ground, crouching down and begin to unzip it.

__

Richie then grabbed a spray can out of his bag and looked up at Eddie with a glimmer in his eye. "You know how to work a spray paint bottle?"

__

"R-Richie, no, we can't do that, that's like so illegal. That's definitely like, defacing government property or something, and it's 100% vandalism. What happens if we get caught?" Eddie anxiously wondered aloud, forgetting about his desire to seem cool in front of Richie.

__

"Sweet cheeks, if we go to prison, promise I'll bail you out, 'kay?" Richie joked. "Seriously though, we're not gonna get in trouble. As long as you don't write like, 'FUCK THE POLICE' in spraypaint, you're gonna be fine."

__

Eddie pondered for a moment. The Eddie Kaspbrak in Derry, Maine would've never done this in a million years.

__

"So?" Richie egged on as he began to shake up his spraypaint can.

__

But, the Eddie Kaspbrak from Los Angeles, California might.

__

"Okay." he nodded as he squatted down next to Richie, reaching in the bag for a can.

__

Richie flashed Eddie a bright grin and flew upright, extending his hand out to help Eddie up. It wasn't necessary, both of them had to know that, but Eddie took his offered hand anyway.

__

They walked over to one of the pillars and Eddie just kind of stared at Richie, planning on following whatever he did. Richie glanced at Eddie one last time before giving the spraypaint a vigorous shake and began painting on the concrete.Eddie watched as Richie just sprayed a simple sun drawing with a smiley face in the middle of it. "Cute, right?"

__

"I've seen better." Eddie teased.

__

Richie gasped. "You're saying that Smiley Sun doesn't make me the Van Gogh of graffiti art? I'm hurt, Spaghetti, I really am."

__

Eddie laughed as he playfully pushed Richie to the side and began to draw one of his own. He finished and looked at Richie for approval.

__

"A crescent moon with a sad face in it?"

__

"Yeah. It's Not-Smiley Moon." Eddie explained.

__

Richie snorted as he shook his head. "It's me and you." he remarked as he pointed at the drawings in front of them.

__

"Which is which?" Eddie asked.

__

"Isn't it obvious?" Richie responded, but did not elaborate. "Watch this."

__

Richie spraypainted his name right underneath the sun, and then "Eds" right underneath the moon.

__

"Richie, you can't just put our names on a crime scene for everyone to see!" Eddie warned, but he was smiling anyway.

__

"But you see, my dear Eds, now the city will never forget about us, don't ya get it?" he explained.

__

Eddie's heart melted at that sentiment. Instead of showing that, however, he just nodded. "Yeah, until city workers come to this site and paint over it."

__

"Good point," Richie giggled as he nodded his head. "But until then, we are Richie and Eddie, the sun and the moon, immortalized on the dirty concrete of a Los Angeles highway."

__

"How pretentious of us." Eddie smiled as he began to draw even more doodles on the concrete slab.

__

They spraypainted random drawings until they ran out of all the paint in their cans. They laughed until their ribcages were aching, and they talked until their gums felt tired. Eddie finally checked his phone and saw the time, which was 4 A.M. _My God,_ he thought. _It had been 1 A.M. when they left. How the hell had they spent three hours under this highway together?_

__

He also saw the twenty missed calls and numerous text message notifications.

__

from: **stan <3**  
(1:26 a.m.)  
eddie where the fuck did you go our sttuterring bill jjust made out with bAAEVerly  
(1:47 a.m.)  
are yyoiu okay??  
(2:30 a.m.)  
EDDIE  
(2:57 a.m.)  
bben said he saaw you leave with richie ahhaha use protection u dumb gay  
(3:03 a.m.)  
me and mike are hom e text me whenevr ur done being a homo

__

From: **mikey!**  
(1:25 a.m.)  
EDDIE WHERE THE FUCKKK ARE YOU BILL JUST KISSED BEVERLY FUCKING MARSH  
(1:26 a.m.)  
LIKE OUR BILL. AND THE MOVIE STAR BEVERLY MARSH  
(1:43 a.m.)  
Hey Eddie actually where are you though  
(1:51 a.m.)  
You aren't responding to Stan either, is everything alright? Do you need us to come get you  
(1:54 a.m.)  
Call me back whenever you can  
(2:23 a.m.)  
Left with Richie Tozier.. Good god what is it with our friend group and hooking up with famous people nowadays  
(2:59 a.m.)  
See you at home I guess?

__

Eddie sighed as he looked over at Richie, knowing he had to text Stan and Mike an apology and be on his way soon. "So, I guess that's a night then, huh?"

__

"It doesn't have to be." Richie quickly responded. "I mean, unless you want it to be, it is pretty late and I'm sure your roomates are wondering where the fuck you are but.. We could do one more thing."

__

Eddie gave him an inquisitive look. "Like what?"

__

"Have you ever watched the sunrise on the beach?"

__

And, no, Eddie had not. Eddie hadn't stepped foot on a beach for eighteen entire years until he moved to L.A. last year.

__

"No." he responded.

__

"Would you like to?" Richie asked, a hopeful smile on his tired face.

__

Eddie scribbled out a quick text to Mike, saying: _been graffiting los angeles with richie tozier. wtf is my life. will explain more tmrw sorry for going MIA i love you mikey!_

__

"Lead the way, Trashmouth." he told him with a smile as he put his phone back in his pocket.

__

"Trashmouth!" Richie yelled as he grabbed Eddie's wrist, pulling him in the direction to where his car was parked. "Who the fuck told you that you had already earned the rights to that nickname?"

__

They giggled and shoved each other and bantered all the way to the car, and continued to do on the car ride to the beach. As soon as they arrived, the sky had already begun to shift into a twilight-esque tint and Eddie couldn't believe he had forced himself to stay awake for this long. Richie really must've had some serious fucking wizarding power, is all Eddie could figure.

__

The boys got out of the car and Richie led him to the deck that was farthest away, avoiding any onlookers.

__

"Take your shoes off." Richie told him as he did the same.

__

After that was done, Richie grabbed Eddie's hand for the fourth time that night and made him follow to a remote part of the sand. Richie took off the flannel and the jacket he had on and laid them on the sand, and then proceeded to sit down on them, knees in a fetal position with his head propped up by his hand. Eddie followed suit by sitting criss-cross applesauce right next to him, resting his own head in his palms.

__

"I haven't been to the beach much since I've been here." Eddie announced.

__

"Yeah?"

__

"Yeah. I've been here a year and only really had a beach day like, twice. You'd think that'd be the first tourist-y thing to do."

__

"You get bored of it after a while." Richie reasoned. "I've lived here all my life. I much prefer rolling mountains and snow and pretty landscapes by now."

__

"Sounds kind of like where I come from, just subtract the beauty from it." Eddie laughed.

__

"And where is it that you come from, Eddie Spaghetti?" Richie asked.

__

"A real hellhole of a place in Maine called Derry."

__

"Never heard of it."

__

"Most people haven't." Eddie shrugged. "You've lived here your whole life?"

__

"Yup. I've never known any different." Richie said as he looked at Eddie.

__

"Wow. It's so weird to hear how lackluster you talk about it, considering I used to always view this city with bright eyes and see it as this wonderful place of dreams."

__

"Place of broken dreams." Richie bitterly laughed. "Sorry, I'm being cynical."

__

"No, you're not." Eddie turned to face the boy next to him "I like hearing you speak."

__

Richie grinned softly at him. "I like that you listen."

__

They stayed in that moment for a minute until Richie's eyes glanced over to the horizon. "Look, Eds, the sun's coming up."

__

Eddie turned his gaze over to the sunrise, genuinely in awe at how beautiful the sight actually was. The sky was tinted pink, orange, and purple with the pale yellow sun peeking out behind the colors. Eddie was actually glad that Richie had used to his magical pull to make him stay awake this long, because it was completely worth it.

__

"Wow." he squeaked.

__

Richie snickered. "Yeah, wow. Pretty, isn't it?"

__

"Really pretty." he nodded. "Do you watch this often?"

__

"Not really. I just figured it seemed like something you would enjoy." Richie smiled.

__

"Well, you figured correctly." he confirmed as he continued to stare at the sunrise.

__

They sat for another hour or so, basking in the upcoming sunrays and tossing mindless conversation back and forth. It wasn't until Richie checked the time on his phone and saw that it was 6:05 A.M. that he decided he probably needed to get back home.

__

"Hey, Rich, it's six in the morning." he chortled.

__

"Six? Holy fuck, Kaspbrak, you sure know how to party." Richie joked, the tiredness evident in his voice. "C'mon, I'll take you home."

__

The boys stood up and Richie grabbed his jacket off of the ground, and Eddie grabbed Richie's black and white flannel in an attempt to help. They walked back to the vehicle and sleepily drudged themselves into it. Eddie told Richie the address of his apartment complex, and Richie started to head that way.

__

The minute they arrived, Eddie knew logically that he just spent six hours with Richie, but he found himself wanting more time with him. God, you're so clingy. he bitterly thought to himself.

__

"Is this su casa?" Richie questioned as he gave him a smile.

__

"It's su... apartment building, yeah." he giggled back.

__

"Phase one of 'Operation: Show Edward 'Spaghedward' Kaspbrak How To Live' is complete."

__

Eddie laughed and nodded his head. "Indeed. Well, I better head up there. Stan and Mike probably think I'm in a ditch somewhere by now."

__

"Ah, don't let me keep you then. Wouldn't wanna keep Stan the Man in a worry." Richie assured. Eddie bid him goodbye and began to open the car door handle, before Richie interrupted him. "Wait,"

__

Eddie turned around to look at Richie. "Yeah?"

__

Richie reached in the backseat and pulled a Sharpie pen out of his backpack. "Gimme your hand."

__

Eddie gave Richie his palm hesitantly, as he felt him scribble something on his hand. "Alright, now you can go." he said, causing Richie and Eddie to tell each other their goodbyes again. When Eddie got out of the car, he watched Richie drive off, and realized he was still holding his flannel in his hand. He looked down at his other hand and saw what was written on it.

__

_'You're a good partner in crime, Spaghetti  
XXX-XXX-XXXX'_

__

Eddie's smile stretched all the way to his eyes as he nearly skipped into his apartment building. As he got to his floor, he kept running his hand over the Sharpie message that was left on his palm. Eddie turned the key of the apartment and was met with the sight of Mike brewing coffee at the bar in their small kitchen. His face screwed up in surprise as he glanced over Eddie.

__

"So, what the fuck happ-"

__

"Sleep now. Explain later. Boy pretty." Eddie offered in place of the wild explanation he knew he would have to tell at some point. He rushed off to his room before Mike could protest and cuddled himself into his sheets. Before going to sleep, he pulled out his phone.

__

to: **richie tozier :)**  
(6:33 a.m.)  
you're a pretty good partner in crime too, mr smiley sun

__

from: **richie tozier :)**  
(6:35 a.m.)  
:) just imagine how much concrete we'll have to spray paint in our jail cell!!

__

Eddie giggled and set his phone down, folding Richie's flannel and setting it underneath his pillow, finally treating himself to rest, accompanied by the smell of Richie in his nose and the feeling of warmth in his chest.

__

**Author's Note:**

> so There it is.... Dont be too hard on me ;___;  
IM SORRY IF ITS TOO LONG i Just. had so much to introduce  
DISCLAIMER also dont try this f*ggoty shit at home kids bc if this was irl richie and eddie sneaking under the freeway they probably wouldve either invaded a homeless camp or gotten arrested . But alas this is just gay fanfiction on the internet and it it just pretend  
anyway leave comments/luv/anything u want!!  
\- daniel $$$  
twt: @tgfskata


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